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Talk:Keefe and Sophie/@comment-37582711-20190226014534
Hi! So this story is a bit different from my other ones... it's about Fitz and Keefe's friendship, pre-Sophie.... this one was based on a suggestion from @SamSerene68, so thank you, SamSerene68! I hope you enjoy! ''---- 3 times Fitz helped Keefe (and the one time he couldn’t) -----'' The first time Fitz helped Keefe, was back when they were just level two students. Fitz had just noticed a strange, short kid with messy blond hair and sad eyes, studiously scribbling away in a notebook. He’d seen the boy around a few times, always alone. He looked younger than everyone else, and kind of reminded him of Biana, in a way. The other kids gave the blonde a wide berth. Right now, the small boy sat a lunch table, all on his own. ' '“Hey, Lucyra, you know who he is?” he asked a nearby girl. She blushed a bit under his attention. “Uh, ye-yeah. He’s Keefe Sencen, some nerd who skipped a grade. He’s, uh, super weird, apparently.” Fitz frowned. He didn’t know why, but it bothered him that kids were making fun of him. He shrugged. He might as well try and be nice. He approached Keefe, straightening his cloak out. “Uh, hello?” he asked, fidgeting with his buttons. He felt strange, just walking up to a random kid sitting by himself on the other side of the lunchroom. Keefe shot up, covering his notebook. “Yes, hello. I’m not doing anything, I don’t know why you would think that...” he rambled, shoving his notebook away, and hastily turning to face Fitz. He stopped mid-sentence, catching sight of Fitz. “Oh. Fitz Vacker, hmm?” Keefe raised an eyebrow, suddenly serious. ''' '''Fitz grinned awkwardly. “That’s me!” He could see why kids called Keefe strange, but he decided to give him a chance. Keefe looked confused. “Um, great. Why… are you talking to me?” “Why not?” “People are going to think you’re weird if they see you talking to a loser like me.” “Yes, well I don’t care,” Fitz decided. Keefe looked taken aback, for the first time Fitz had talked to him. “But you’re...you’re a Vacker.” “Sure I am. But I’m also a friend,” Fitz beamed at him. Keefe blinked a few times, before breaking into a hesitant grin. “So, what were you doing before?” Fitz asked, plopping next to the blonde-haired boy. Keefe let a conspiratorial smile grace his face and pulled his notebook back out. “Well, it involves fireworks, permanent dye, and a few spiders....” They both ended up in detention a week later, when a bright-green Dame Alina had run out of her smoking room, shaking a spider off her hand. But, Fitz had decided it was worth it, seeing as he had met his best friend. '-------' The next time Fitz helped Keefe was right at the start of level three Fitz had been walking to his Telepathy class leisurely, seeing as his teacher didn’t care if he showed up 15 minutes late (or showed up, at all- “you’re a Vacker,” she had exclaimed when Fitz asked her why she let him do whatever he wanted). Turning the corner he spotted a familiar pair of ice-blue eyes. “Hey, Keefe!” he called, waving his arms at his friend. Keefe looked up from where he was slumped over a bench. “Hi,” the boy sighed, forcing on a smile. Fitz noticed Keefe’s unusually unenthusiastic behavior. “Everything alright?” he questioned, worried. He had never seen the boy so down before. “Uh, yeah… it’s just…” Fitz cocked a head. “It’s just what?” “Nothing… nothing.” Fitz sat by the boy. “You know, I’m not going to push you or anything. But… if you ever need anything, I’m here.” Keefe glanced away, eyes shining for the briefest second. “Hey, I hear Atlantis is holding a Bramble tournament. Wanna go?” Fitz piped up, knowing how much Keefe loved those games. Keefe spun to look at him.“But...you have class? You can’t get detention because of me, again.” he asked, a bit hesitant. “Nah, I just have my Telepathy class with Lady Silas. She won’t care. She worships me.” Keefe cracked a grin, his first grin that day. “Ah, so you’ve got all the ladies, huh, Fitzy-boy?” “Oh, shut up,” Fitz laughed, standing up and moving to leave. He turned back around to Keefe. “So you coming, or what?” Keefe smirked. “Of course I am. Let’s go,” he smiled, grabbing his bag. They spent the rest of their day in Atlantis. Fitz got in trouble later, but Keefe had gone home, looking much happier. Fitz never found out that the reason Keefe had been so miserable that day was because Lord Cassius had ripped up all his art and stormed out the house, leaving to one of his “beach-residences.” Fitz hadn’t know what was going on, but he had helped. He had helped. '-----' The third time Fitz helped Keefe was the first time Fitz suspected something was up with Keefe. It was the middle of a school break, and the Vackers were busy laughing together over old pictures. “Did Alina really do that at your wedding?” Biana giggled, clutching her stomach. Alden looked highly embarrassed, his face turning red. He opened his mouth to protest but was cut off by a hesitant knock. The family looked up to see Keefe standing unsteadily in the doorframe, soaked by rain. Della gasped and moved to go grab some towels and a blanket. Biana moved to follow her. “I’m sorry,” Keefe muttered, “I didn’t mean to intrude.” “What happened?” Alden questioned, eyes wide. “I… I just need a place to stay for the night. I- I hope you don’t mind.” Alden sucked in a breath as if he already knew what had happened. “I’ll go grab you some clothes. You’re always welcome, Keefe. Always,” he reassured, walking to the stairs. Keefe and Fitz were left alone. “Dude… are you okay?” Fitz asked uncertainty. He had always wondered what Keefe’s family was like. He had only seen them a few times, and they had seemed somewhat strict. On top of that, Keefe never let anyone visit his house, claiming it was ‘boring’ and all. And now, he showed up in the middle of the night, drenched in rain and downcast. Keefe smiled. “Yeah, don’t worry. I’m okay. My mom just had… this emergency, so my parents had to go somewhere. I’m sorry for interrupting, though… you guys looked like you were having fun.” “When will you get it, Keefe?” Fitz demanded, suddenly loud. Keefe looked at him with widened eyes. “You’re family, Keefe. Family. You’ll never be intruding because you’re part of all this,” Fitz gestured around the house. Keefe’s eyes lightened, filling with some sort of relief, some sort of joy. “Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you.” They spent the rest of the night joking over an aurenflare, eating marshmallows and ripplenuts, Keefe's gloominess long forgotten. Fitz would push his doubts away about Keefe’s family, thinking he was looking too closely into it, thinking he would be making unjust accusations without any evidence. Keefe seemed alright, he decided. But, every now and then, when Keefe though no one was looking, Fitz would catch the bitter look in his eyes when he looked at the Vackers. Fits shrugged it aside. Keefe was a part of the family. He would always help Keefe, he thought. '-----' Fitz thought he knew everything about Keefe. He thought he had seen it all. And then came a brown-eyed girl, a strange rebel group, betrayals, death, and more heartbreak than he had ever imagined. And he realized. He had known nothing about Keefe. He hadn’t known about the loneliness, the anger, the fights, the brokeness Keefe lived with. He hadn’t know Keefe’s mother was a monster and his father just didn’t care. He hadn’t known. Fitz had thought he was helping. But he couldn’t anymore. Sophie said Keefe had said to trust him when he left with the traitors. She had said he should believe Keefe, that Keefe had only destroyed Foxfire as a last-resort. She said that Fitz should help Keefe. But Fitz couldn’t help Keefe anymore. Keefe was already gone.